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Copycat Fashion #6: Macy’s Square Neck Bodysuit

I’M BACK, was the wait too long, lol?

Well, I just happened to have 2 sewing projects going on at once. The curtains I mentioned in my last post was a detour from a new Copycat Fashion I was in the middle of doing and now I’m free to share with everyone.

This Copycat Fashion project is different from what I’m used to doing. Instead of using one of my tried & true commercial patterns to make something I’ve seen, I decided to copy a pattern from an existing garment and try to recreate it for myself. With fast fashion getting cheaper and smaller in size, I’ve been curious to see if I could take a cheaply made & bought piece and extract its pattern pieces while learning how to construct it. This project I didn’t pull apart my original piece because I already like it and it fits, so this was about me learning how to make it for more copies I’ll enjoy later.

I got this simple short sleeve bodysuit in the Macy’s clearance section for 5 bucks (that spot is a treasure chest of good deals if you have time for the hunt). I love bodysuits in general and the square neckline looked really flattering on me. I’ve struggled lately with necklines so this was a welcome surprise. I like it so much I want to recreate this bodysuit in multiple colors and sleeve lengths. Maybe I’ll even try making a tank top & t-shirt with this neckline, I like how good it looks on me. This is one of the benefits of learning to sew I enjoy.

So here comes the fun part; which one of these bodysuits is the original and which one is the copycat?

Take a guess before joining me on the next page, lol.

Continue reading Copycat Fashion #6: Macy’s Square Neck Bodysuit

Curtains for Church

Happy July, everybody!

The summer season has sparked many warm weather-based clothes ideas to keep my sewing machine busy, but instead I began my latest crafting adventure with a surprise home décor project.

My church was in dire need of some new curtains after theirs gave them 20 years of dependable service and since I’m a well know sewing hobbyist they recruited me to make them. I was eager to take on the challenge since I’ve yet to sew anything for interior decorating, especially from scratch. However, curtains are nothing more than large hemmed rectangles with stitched channels for the bar to slip through so designing & constructing them aren’t complicated.

The only thing for a sewer to worry about when it comes to a simple project is all the measurements needing to be accurate and being able to replicate that 3 more times and THAT can get complicated.

Come join me as I regale my adventure in curtain sewing, lol!

Continue reading Curtains for Church

The Pattern Probe #16: McCall’s M8236 Grocery Bag

McCalls M8236

Happy Spring, everybody!

I’m finally trying out one of my many accessory commercial patterns and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Supermarkets everywhere are steadily phasing out their plastic bags, meaning the Universe is telling me to put my sewing skills to better use then fashion (HA! Never!)and make some reusable grocery bags instead

At the same time I came into a giant roll of awesome utility-like fabric and spools of webbing thanks to a generous donor, so the Universe was making itself clear to me that grocery bags should be my next project.

Message received!

Continue reading The Pattern Probe #16: McCall’s M8236 Grocery Bag

The Pattern Probe #15: Vogue V9252 Halter Dress

Vogue V9252

Here we go again! 🙂

It’s time to blog about Wedding Guest dress Number 2.

Since I went out of my comfort zone making the dressy jumpsuit previously, I made up my mind and chose a fancy dress to sew for the second wedding. Interestingly enough, I found the fabric first and used that to pick the pattern instead; a lovely charmeuse in a purple poppy watercolor print with blush pink accents. Perfect material for this project.

After looking through my dress pattern collection, I landed on this Vogue option as the One. I particularly liked the halter neckline style and wanted to learn how to sew it for a possible future Copycat Fashion idea.

The fabric is bought, the pattern is chosen, and now the sewing begins.

Continue reading The Pattern Probe #15: Vogue V9252 Halter Dress

The Pattern Probe #14: McCall’s M8009 Sleeveless Jumpsuit

McCalls M8009

Welcome back everyone!

I experienced a phenomenon I haven’t had in a while: being a Plus One for 2 weddings in the same month. 🙂

From my many hours of reading fashion magazines & web sites, shopping for a wedding guest outfit can be a daunting & frustrating life moment, especially when you don’t have a high-end budget for high-end designer looks.

Fortunately for me, I am a home sewing enthusiast with a large pattern collection to work with.

Here is the first outfit I made.

Continue reading The Pattern Probe #14: McCall’s M8009 Sleeveless Jumpsuit

The Pattern Probe #13: McCall’s M7058 collarless princess seam blazer

McCalls M7058

Hello again! Did you miss me?

Like I mentioned in the previous post I have accumulated 4 sewing projects in the last few months and am ready to post all of them.

This project is actually the second time using the McCall’s M7058 princess seam outerwear packet. First time around I used it for an Easter art piece, ‘High Expectations Meet Unexpected Realities’ and you should check it out if you’re curious.

That project was a clever attempt to practice with this particular pattern because I have plans to make multiple garments from it. Here is the first garment I made from this, a collarless blazer using vintage pieces of fabric gifted to me a while ago.

Continue reading The Pattern Probe #13: McCall’s M7058 collarless princess seam blazer

Copycat Fashion Project #5: Kate Moss 2-Piece Swimsuit

Hey everyone!

It’s been a long and great summer for yours truly and now I finally have a few sewing projects to share with all of you.

This is my first Copycat Fashion project in a while and it’s my first swimwear project EVER. Sewing enthusiasts know swimwear is very challenging to make and I just HAD to use a pattern made for woven fabrics to realize this project for extra difficulty, lol.

Join me on my journey, why don’t you?

Continue reading Copycat Fashion Project #5: Kate Moss 2-Piece Swimsuit

The Pattern Probe #12: McCall’s M8055 Elastic Skirt

All right, it’s good to be back!

Life can sometimes add a lot to your plate and keep you from blogging. I have been working offline on a few projects from freelancing to crafting and even a few sewing projects.

Here is one that brings me back to basics because no matter how long I’ve been sewing, I find it good to do simple projects for improving my skills.

Plus, knitwear has seriously been trending the last 2 years and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen knit skirts with elastic waistbands in high fashion selling for hundreds or thousands of dollars a pop.

Thanks McCall’s for ANSWERING the call, lol.

Continue reading The Pattern Probe #12: McCall’s M8055 Elastic Skirt

The Pattern Probe #11: Butterick B6298 Romper

Time for another sewing project!

Actually this is not the first time I’ve used this pattern design. Initially I made Jumpsuit C, the one with the jogger pants bottom and hood, from black ponte fabric in the Large size. Boy that fabric was tough to sew with! Had to learn that one while doing it and my piece ended up being too big on me. I still wear it around the house from time to time though; it’s baggy but comfortable. However I vowed one day to try this pattern design again and get it right.

That day has come. 🙂

Continue reading The Pattern Probe #11: Butterick B6298 Romper

The Pattern Probe #10: DIY Ballerina Wrap Skirt

On Pointe.

Hello Sewers!

For this latest Pattern Probe post, I decided to do something slightly different and make a pattern from scratch by using a tutorial I found on YouTube.

I love buying commercial patterns from the usual folk (Simplicity, Burda, McCall’s, Butterick, Vogue, etc.) because they’ve been doing a great job keeping track of the latest fashion trends and they’re essentially doing all the work for me when making the patterns for the garments. All I have to do is cut the pieces out and sew it together per the instructions, and as a home sewer slowly improving herself every day I couldn’t ask for more.

But lately I am, lol…

Continue reading The Pattern Probe #10: DIY Ballerina Wrap Skirt